Chapter 2 (Part 4)

On the day of departure for Milan, In-ah stood at the back of the line, watching the back of Jinwon’s head as he went through departure procedures.

The events of that night, when she saw the man who seemed like a loan shark but probably wasn’t, kept replaying in her mind.

Trying hard to shake off the thoughts, In-ah received her seat assignment and settled into her seat on the plane.

“Um….”

The appearance of a couple speaking politely to her gave In-ah an instinctive feeling.

‘No way.’

Her intuition was spot on.

“We’re sorry, but could you switch seats with us? We’re together, but our seats are apart.”

“Oh, sure.”

In-ah agreed with a friendly smile. But she hadn’t anticipated what would happen next.

After giving up her seat and finding a new one, she discovered Jinwon sitting next to it.

“Excuse me, I’ll just squeeze by.”

In-ah managed to squeeze out the words to Jinwon. Jinwon seemed more surprised by In-ah’s sudden appearance.

Feeling awkward, In-ah spoke first.

“I know. I’m here. It’s not like you planned this, I came here on my own. So don’t worry about the wish or anything.”

Only after Jinwon stood up to let her in could In-ah settle into the window seat. She resolved to look out the window for the entire 12-hour flight.

When the in-flight meal was served, the stewardess announced that the main menu options were chicken steak and bibimbap. In-ah and Jinwon both said, “Chicken stea…” at the same time.

Feeling awkward, they exchanged glances.

“You have it, Team Leader.”

“No, you have it, In-ah.”

“No, it’s fine.”

As they continued to politely insist, an older man next to them quickly grabbed the chicken steak. The two, left without the chicken steak, awkwardly turned their gazes upward.

Receiving bibimbap, In-ah solemnly took out her chopsticks first. Only then did she open the lid of the bibimbap. She intended to remove the cucumbers usually on top.

But In-ah paused when she opened the lid. There were no cucumbers in the bibimbap garnish. No matter how much she poked around with her chopsticks, there were none.

She glanced at Jinwon’s bibimbap beside her, which was full of cucumber garnish.

In-ah realized Jinwon had asked the stewardess to remove the cucumbers. She wanted to tell him not to do such things, but she had no proof.

In such cases, it’s best to pretend not to know. Since she hadn’t asked for it, she’d swallow her thanks as well.

However, Jinwon, struggling with his casted finger, kept fumbling with his chopsticks, which annoyed her. As she briefly hesitated, Jinwon gave up the chopsticks and picked up a spoon. In-ah then looked away.

After finishing her bibimbap, In-ah fell into a deep sleep. The accumulated fatigue from consecutive late nights had caught up with her.

Jinwon quietly watched In-ah’s sleeping face. Then he picked up the blanket In-ah had kicked off in her sleep and gently covered her with it.

To Jinwon, In-ah was just as she had been at the time of their breakup seven years ago. He thought it was fine as it was.

Even if she didn’t speak kindly, even if she resented, got angry, and kept pushing him away, just being able to see her from this close was enough. But he knew better than anyone that all of this was greedy.

Since no one could compensate for the time that had passed, Jinwon chose to accept it. Not to be greedy. But whenever he saw In-ah like this, he found it difficult to control his growing desires.

***

Upon arriving at the hotel, Jinwon was checking in with fluent Italian. Behind him, In-ah pouted, unable to openly express her thoughts.

‘English works too, so why bother? Hmph!’

Jinwon was a linguistic genius, as In-ah had acknowledged. She thought he was only good at English, but it seemed his European studies had added several more languages to his repertoire. It was a talent she envied.

Grumbling inaudibly, In-ah had no choice but to accept reality.

‘Even if it were in English, I couldn’t do it. But he can.’

Indeed, it was pointless stubbornness. In times like this, the best strategy was to quietly let things be as they were done for her.

After completing the check-in, Jinwon approached In-ah and handed her a room key.

“You can have a drink at the bar anytime.”

“No, thanks.”

In-ah replied sharply.

“…….”

But the ensuing silence made In-ah sense something was amiss. After a brief pause, Jinwon continued speaking.

“They offer it as a complimentary service. The coupon is with the key.”

“Oh, I see.”

In-ah quickly replied and then turned around to walk away. The only thing left to say in such a moment was, “Run for your life.”

The Milan Furniture Fair begins tomorrow. Although having dinner with Jinwon would allow her to eat without any language barriers, In-ah couldn’t bring herself to do it. With the confidence that she could manage with her limited English, In-ah left the hotel. She bought a sandwich and headed to the Naviglio Grande Canal. Sitting by the canal, she ate her sandwich and watched the sun set.

As the sky began to turn a shade of purple, In-ah found herself lost in thought. During her university days, she had dreamed of coming to the Milan Furniture Fair with Jinwon. 

Here they were in Milan, as she had wished, but they were not “together.” Before she knew it, tears welled up in In-ah’s eyes. She quickly wiped them away without realizing it.

Before she could get more sentimental, In-ah stood up. Walking along the path by the canal, her attention was caught by the line of restaurants.

Inside one of the restaurants, she spotted Jinwon laughing and chatting with a blonde woman. In-ah swallowed a bitter smile. The Jinwon she remembered no longer existed in this world. She had to accept that.

Just then, Jinwon was leaving the restaurant with the woman. Startled, In-ah quickly turned around. In doing so, she collided with people walking from the opposite direction and fell.

In-ah was the one who ended up sprawled on the ground, but the foreign woman started speaking sharply in Italian to her. Flustered, In-ah couldn’t respond and just looked up at the woman.

At that moment, someone gently wrapped their arm around In-ah’s shoulder and helped her up. When she looked up, it was Jinwon.

With his arm around In-ah’s shoulder, Jinwon began speaking in Italian to the woman who was angrily chattering. 

Though she couldn’t understand the words, it seemed the woman was strongly complaining about her torn shoulder garment. Jinwon calmly reasoned with the woman in Italian.

The situation wasn’t solely In-ah’s fault. It was a collision caused by both parties not seeing each other, and it was unclear whether the woman’s clothes had been torn before or because of In-ah.

The woman’s arguments seemed to run out against Jinwon’s logic. Although she continued to grumble as if dissatisfied, she left without saying anything more to In-ah.

Only then did Jinwon release his hold on In-ah’s shoulder. In-ah looked up at Jinwon.

“About that wish. How about we stop it just here? Just in Milan.”

In-ah nodded, pretending to be reluctant, convincing herself it wasn’t because of Jinwon’s radiant smile in the sunset.

***

The next day, at the Milan Furniture Fair, Jinwon and In-ah stayed together. As Team Leader and team member, it was only natural, but for Jinwon, it seemed like a special time.

Unlike In-ah, who was focused on exploring the fair, Jinwon couldn’t take his eyes off her. He kept pressing the camera shutter, unable to hide his smile as he watched In-ah take notes while examining the pieces.

“Jinwon!”

Jinwon greeted a foreigner who recognized him and was particularly delighted. In-ah, noticing this, quietly stepped aside.

As In-ah wandered through the fair, her eyes suddenly widened. Standing before her was Matteo, an Italian furniture designer she had always admired.

“Matteo….”

Her voice, which had escaped her lips unknowingly, caught Matteo’s attention.

Matteo’s real-life appearance was incomparable to the photos she had seen. Contrary to the typical image of Italian men being overly suave, he wasn’t like that at all.

Matteo appeared as if the word ‘sexy’ had been personified. Not only was his sharp collarbone visible through his partially unbuttoned shirt, but his chest muscles also made their presence known, captivating those who looked.

Noticing the startled In-ah, Matteo flashed a dazzling smile. He approached and greeted her.

“Hi! #$^$%&^(*&”

He said something in Italian, but she couldn’t understand it. As In-ah awkwardly smiled, Matteo whispered something to a person next to him, who then approached In-ah and conveyed the message in English.

“Are you a furniture designer?”

Though her English was limited, In-ah could easily answer such a question.

“Yes.”

“Where are you from?”

“KOREA. I love Matteo’s furniture.”

Excited, In-ah continued with a thrilled expression, clasping her hands together. After receiving the message, Matteo said something else, never taking his eyes off In-ah.

Matteo’s next words were surprising. He was hosting a small party at his house that night and invited her to attend.

Unable to hide her surprise, In-ah immediately expressed her approval, nodding repeatedly with her hands over her heart. There couldn’t be a more certain affirmation than that.